Marble shooter



J. E. WATKINS Dec. 8, 1964 MARBLE SHOOTER 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March29. 1962 aw y. 5 1

INVENTOR.

JOHN E. W4 TK/NS.

1964 J. E. WATKINS 3,160,152

MARBLE SHOOTER Filed March 29. 1962 3 s s 2 Eur/0.

:El -12.. L

INVENTOR.

JOHN E. WA TK/NS.

Dec. 8, 964 J. E. WATKINS 6 MARBLE SHOOTER JOHN E. W4 TK/NS.

United States Patent Ofitice 3,16,152 Patented Dec. 8, 1964 3,166,152.vMARBLE SIIQOTER John .E. Watkins, Council Blufis, Iowa. (10402 HelendaleAye, Tnjungmfialif.) Filed Mar. 29, 1962, Ser. No. $3,445 6 tllaims.(6E. 124'-21) My invention relates to improvements-in marble shootersorguns, and the object of; my invention is to make a-simple, inexpensiveand amusing device which isespecially-adapted for shooting the taw inplaying marbles, so that it will roll along the ground or, floor, inseadof propelling it through the-air. To this end my invention comprises atwo piece body portion having a hand grip at its upper rear end, andhaving its lower end portion formed into a barrel-portion, the bottom ofthe body resting uponthe ground, and from which the marble is expelled.My invention is intended to produce a-marble shooter of this characterin which the body will act as the storage chamber to receive and carry amarble, and with this form of construction, the body, the barrel and thehand grip are arranged so that the lower wall of the body, withthebarrel adjacent thereto, can be'firmly held upon the ground andeasily sighted so that the marble when expelled will roll accuratelytoward the mark. My-

invention is further intended to be constructed with a short, or tallbody portion so it can be used by the operator in a standing or kneelingposition relative to the ground. It is further intended to produce asimple trigger and resilient meansfor actuating the arm, it acting as ahammer, which will discharge the marble from the barrel with sufiicientforce to carry ittoward the object intended; all of which will be moreclearly understood from the description which follows.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings.

forming a part of this specification, in which similar referencecharacters indicate corresponding parts in all figures. FIGURE 1 is abroken side elevation of a pistolltype marble shooter embodying myinvention;

FIGURE 2 is a front View of the same, taken on line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIGURE 3 is a vertical cross sectional view taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIGURE 4 is a side view of the shooter shown by FIG. 1;

.FIGURE 5 is a top plan view. of the hammer arm shown in FIG. 1 andshowing the channels for holding the rubber band retaining pin;

FIGURE 6 isan enlarged side-view of'the rubber band retaining pin;

FIGURE 7 is a-fragmentary perspective view of: the bolttype clampingmeansafor securing the two free ends of the rubber band shown in FIG. 1;

FIGURE Sis a side elevational view of the hammer hammer arm releaselever;

FIGURE 9 is a top plan View of release lever shown by FIG. 8;

- FIGURE 10 Jisa broken side eleyationofmodificationof the marble;shooter embodying. a long vertical body portion;

FIGURE 11 is a. frontview of, the marble shooter shown by FIG. 10;

FIGURE 12 is afurther modification, a springbeingemployed in place oftheusualrubber band;

FIGURE 13, isa brokensideelevation ofapistol type marble shooterembodying ahorizontal'arrangedbarrel;

FIGURE 14' is a top plan view of the marble shooter shown by FIG. 13;

FIGURE 15 is a front view of the marble shooter shown by FIGS. 13 and14;

FIGURE 16 is a broken top plan view of the hollow hammer arm shown byFIG. 13;

FIGURE 17 is a side view of the hollow hammer arm as in FIG. 16; and

FIGURE 18 is a side view of the striking pin shown by'FIG. 13 where itis assembled within the hollow hammer arm.

In carrying out my invention withthe illustrated examples, thedevice-shown by FIGURE 1-9 is provided with a simple box-like main bodyportion 20 which is adapted to be heldvertically, andwhich is itselfequipped with side by side companion sections 21' and 22, having flatbottoms 21' and 22' respectively and as viewed from the front end as inFIG. 2, the right side section 21 being thicker transversely than theleft section 22: 21 is formed'with hollow portions to receive thevarious working parts, while section 22- acts as a lid or cover. Bothsections Z1-and22 providedwith concaveportions to form the barrel, bothsections removably secured together forming the complete barrelZS; Thebarrel 23 is con nected to a vertical tubularmagazine'by means of acurved tubular section which may be referred to as a chamber,

or magazine 26, to carry the marble, or the like, to be shot from thebarrel 23.- An opening 24 is provided in the side wall of section 22- ofsufiicient size through which the marbleZS may be inserted'and droppedinto the magazine 26 and shot from the barrel by the operator. Aflexible pin member Zfiiis arranged in the wall of section 22, and ithas a free endextending inwardly and downwardly into the magazine 26 totemporarily retain the marble 25 Within the magazine 26; its flexibilitypermits the marble 25 to passthereby into the barrel 23- when struck bysuitable means.

While the body 2%) can be made of any suitable design andmaterial,suchas aluminum,- stecl, plastic or wood, it canbe conveniently formedwith a hand grip 7Ssuch as a pistol grip and arranged at the top of thebody and adjacent the back side and substantiallyparalleltherewithwhereby the user can grasp thegrip, restthe bottomsurfaceof'body 2% upon the ground, and direct the openingofthebarrel23'in the desired direction when he is to use it.

The upper portion fo the bodysection 21- has cut-out portion 28andhas'therein a hammerarrn-29 secured upon a square portion 3tlof atransverse shaft 31 to be rotated therebygwhen the operator turnstheknurled knob 32- arranged outside the body ZtPiand rigidly secured tothe outer end of shaft-31. A rubberband-35 has its free ends; 36 securedto the forward lower of body section-2 1* bymeans of arr-angle plate 37and nut 39' uponthreaded bolt 38. The hammer arm 2? is clearly shown byFIGURE 5' witha vertical rubber band-passage opening 49,- horizontalpin'passage 41 shown dotted, and opening 42 to'receivestub 43 verticallyassembled-with pin44 clearly shown by;

FIG. 6. The looped portion of'the band 3-5-ispositioned' over pin 44-and through passagedtlandclampedby nut; 39 upon plate 37, the rubberband being; stretched as shown by FIG. l todraw the hammer arm 29dow-nwardly when released,

portion or compartment 47.

bore 49' by the spring 50 therein; As shown by FIGURES 8 and 9,- a link52'is formed'with anoii-set rear portion which'ispinnedto the trigger451 The link 52' slides horizontally within a groove formed in section21 between ent-out portion 7 and upper portion of magazine 26.

The pointed free end of link 52 projects forwardly and beneaththe rearend ofhammer arm 29. The sections 21;

The section and 22 are bolted together by suitable means, as well as thetwo sections of the grip 28 are secured by screw means 55 shown in FIG.1.

When the shooter shown by FIG. 1 is used it will have a marble in itsmagazine, the operator will turn the knob 32 clockwise which willelevate the hammer arm to a horizontal position and will be held thereby link 52, The

operator will sight the device after its placement upon the ground andhe will then pull the trigger. The Link 52 Will allow the hammer arm 29to drop; it will strike the marble driving it past the flexible pin 27.The hammer arm follows in counter-clockwise direction and expels themarble from the barrel 2:3 and body 2%, as shown dotted in FIG. 4. V e

. In FIGURES through 12 I have shown a slight modification of thetrigger mechanism and its connection withthe hammer arm, and embodying abody extension so the operator can operate the shooter from a standingposition even when the shooter is on' the ground; these slightmodifications do not affect the principle of the invention. As hereshown, the body 24) has a box-like structure 60 extending upwardly fromthe top rear portion thereof. The pistol grip i8 is arranged here at thetop of the box-like structure 60 and on the back sidein, alignmentwith'bottom of the body 20, so that the user can grasp the grip, restthe body 2% upon the ground, and direct it to the desired point when heis to use it. In FIGURES 10 and 11 the rubber band 35 draws the hammerarm 29 downwardly when the trigger 45 is moved upwardly. A long rod 61is attached at its upper end with the trigger and at its lower end,inside the box-like in a downwardly direction, the cap 86 governing theout- Ward travel of the pin 85. The latch member 90 is pivotally mountedupon pin 92, the upper end thereof attached to a coil spring 93, thelower end held in locking engagement with the hollow arm 84 by the coilspring 93. FIGURE 16 shows the rectangular shaped opening 87 in theupper surface of tubular arm 84, the spring being undercut so that thetongue of the latch member 98 will form a'tongue and groove fastenerwith said opening 87. The trigger 45 has a bar-link as pivoted therewithand extending forwardly therefrom. A toggle link 97 is pivotedintermediate its ends upon pin 98 located above and to the rear of saidlatch member 90. The upper end of link 97 is pivotally connected withthe outer free end of bar-link 95. When the trigger 45 is drawnbackwardly, the barlink 96 will pull upon the upper end of link 97, thelower end thereof striking the upper end of latch member 90, releasingthe tubular arm 84 which is drawn downwardly by rubber band 35. Whensaid arm 84 is moved in structure 60, it is attached to a pin 62 whichis secured v to a pinion gear 63, the gear mounted upon a pin 64 and inmesh with a rack gear on top of link 65 which is forced outwardly byspring 66 to engage and supportthe hammer arm 29. 'When the trigger ispulled, the gear 63 turns in clockwise direction; this moves the rackgear 65 to the left, thereby releasing the hammer arm 29, it being drawndownwardly by rubber band 35, driving any marble in the magazine out thebarrel 23: as desired. In FIG. '12, a coil spring 68 replaces the usualrubber band 35. One end 69 of said coil spring 68 is attached to theupper and forward corner of the body 20, while the lower end 70 isattached to a pin inserted in the pivoted end of the hammer arm'29. Theoperation of the shooter is the same as described with regard to FIGURESl0 and 11. The pinion gear 63 and rack gear Showever have beeneliminated and a shaft 72, pin 73 and slide bar 74 substituted therefor,their operation being obvious from the drawing.

In FIGURES 13 through 18 I have shown a slight modicounter-clockwisedirection by said rubber band 35, the lower free end 88 of pin 85 willstrike the marble 25 and travel along with the marble-until the armassumes a vertical position and effecting the marble to leave the barrel82 under suitable speed and direction. The lower end 99 of the free endportion 88 of pin 85 will strike the bottom of the barrel during thedownward and forward travel; however, the spring 91 permits the pin 85to move upwardly within the arm 84 without any damage thereto. It isclearly seen by FIGURE 17 that the arm 84 is provided with a clampmember 89 with rubber band receiving opening therein. Doubtless otherforms of trigger and hammer mechanisms can be used without departingfrom the invention, and it will be noted that the important thing is tohave a two section vertical body with a magazine portion joined with abarrel with horizontal outlet portion, the lower wall of the bodyadapted to rest upon the ground, and suitable hammer and triggermechanism combined with rubber band or coil spring structure whereby thesingle marble in'the magazine will be forced out of the barrelin itscourse straight for the target.

Whereas I have described my invention by reference to a specific formthereof, and a modification, it will be understood that many changes andmodifications may be made without departing from the spirit of theinvention, a novel, cheap device for shooting the taw in playingmarbles.

I claim:

1. A toy marble shooter comprising a vertical body portion, said bodyportion consisting of two vertical subfication of the marble projectingmechanisms; however,

these modifications do not affect the principle of the invention. Thehousing 20, grip 78 and rubber band 35 and associated parts are the sameas in FIGURE 1. In FIGURES 1 through 12 the magazine 26 and barrel 23are a continuous curved tubular passageway, the striking arm 29 havingits free end traveling from end to end of said passage- 87 therein; thecap 86 is threaded upon the free end of 7 arm 84. The smallerandlowerend 88 of pin normally extends into the elbow portion 81 above andbehind the marble 25 in engagement with pin 83. The arm 84 is'maintainedat substantially 45 degrees with relation to the barrel 82, it beingheld there by latch member 90 against the'tension ofrubber band 35. Aspring 91 is assembled within the arm 84- behind the pin85 forcing itstantially companion body sections joined together, said body portionhaving a flat bottom horizontally arranged and adapted to rest upon theground when in use, said body portion embodying a vertical magazinechamber and a tubular barrel joined together, an opening in the sidewall of one of said vertical body sections for permitting insertion of amarble into the magazine chamber, a resilient pin member secured to therear wall of one of said body sections and with its free end extendinginwardly and downwardly into said vertical magazine chamber forretaining a marble temporarily in said magazine chamber, a transverselyarranged shaft located in the upper forward portion of said bodyportion, a vertically swingable hammer-arm pivotally mounted on saidshaft, said hammer-arm having a rearfree end which swings downwardly andforwardly in a counter-clockwise direction to expel the marble from thesaid tubular barrel, a hand grip extending fromthe upper rear endportion of said body portion, trigger mechaism arranged in theupper rearend portion of said body portion for controlling the hammer.- armpivotally mounted at the forward end of said body portion, a finger ofsaid trigger mechanism extending downwardly between said hand grip andsaid body portion,. a'nd a rubber band secured to the inner forwardlower portion of said body portion and to the rear free end portion ofsaid hammer-arm for urging said hammerarm in said counterclockwisedirection.

2. A toy marble shooter comprising a vertical body portion, said bodyportion consisting solely of two vertical substantially companion bodysections joined together by suitable means, said body portion having afiat bottom horizontally arranged and adapted to rest upon the groundwhen in use, said body portion embodying a vertical magazine chambertherein and a tubular barrel joined together, an opening in the verticalside wall of one of said vertical body sections for permitting insertionof a marble into said magazine chamber, a resilient member secured tothe rear inner wall of said body portion with its free end extendinginwardly and downwardly into said vertical magazine chamber forretaining a marble temporarily in said magazine chamber, a shaftmountedtransversely in horizontally aligned bores in both of said body sectionsand adjacent the upper forward end portion of said body portion, avertically swingable hammer-arm pivotally mounted upon said shaft, saidhammer-arm having a rear free end which swings downwardly and forwardlyin a counter-clockwise direction to expel the marble from the saidtubular barrel, a hand grip extending rearwardly and downwardly from theupper rear portion of said body portion, trigger mechanism arranged inthe upper end portion of said body portion and said hand grip forcontrolling the hammer-arm mounted on said transverse arranged shaft,said shaft having means mounted upon one end thereof for rotating saidhammer-arm to move it into an upper horizontal position and into aposition for engagement with said trigger mechanism, a finger of saidtrigger mechanism extending downwardly between said hand grip and saidbody portion, and a rubber band secured to the inner forward and lowerportion of said body portion and also to the rear free end portion ofsaid hammer-arm for urging said hammer-arm in said counterclockwisedirection.

3. The toy marble shooter according to claim 2 wherein said hammer-armembodies an opening therein through which said rubber band extends andalso embodies a removable pin to assemble the rubber band with saidhammer-arm.

4. A toy marble shooter of the kind described comprising a vertical bodyportion adapted for location in vertical position, and a hand gripextending rearwardly and down wardly from the upper rear end portion ofsaid body portion, said body portion consisting of two verticalsubstantially companion body sections joined together by suitable means,said body portion having a flat bottom horizontally arranged and adaptedto rest upon the ground when in use, one of said body sections beingthicker transversely than the other, said body portion embodying aninner vertical magazine chamber and a tubular barrel joined together, anopening in the side wall of one of said vertical body sections forpermitting insertion of a marble into the said magazine chamber, atransversely arranged shaft located in the upper forward portion of saidbody portion, a vertically swingable hammer-arm pivotally mounted uponsaid shaft, said hammer-arm having a rear free end which swingsdownwardly and forwardly in a counterclockwise direction to expel themarble from the said tubular barrel, a trigger mechanism for controllingsaid hammer-arm, a rubber band rigidly secured at one end thereof tosaid body and its opposite end assembled to said hammer-arm at the rearfree end thereof whereby said rubber band is under tension when in arestricted horizontal position under the control of said triggermechanism, a striking pin, said hammer-arm being tubular with saidstriking pin resiliently held in the lower end thereof.

5. A marble shooter of the kind described comprising a vertical bodyportion composed of a pair of companion vertical body sections, a handgrip extending rearwardly and downwardly from the upper rearvend portionof said body portion, a vertical tubular marble magazine chamber withinsaid body portion, a horizontal tubular marble barrel arranged in thebottom portion of said body portion, a-curved tubular passageway joiningsaid magazine with said barrel, a vertically swingable hammer-armpivotally mounted with a shaft arranged transversely in the forwardportion of said body portion, said hammer-arm having a rear free endwhich is able to swing downwardly and forwardly in acounterclockwise,direction to expel the marble from the said tubularbarrel, a transversely disposed solid cylindrical shaft, triggermechanism adjacent to the hand grip for controlling the action of saidhammer-arm, said trigger mechanism embodying a tubular shaft mountedupon said solid shaft, said tubular shaft having a pair of pinsextending outwardly therefrom, a trigger forming a part of said triggermechanism, one pin extending outwardly and horizontally and connected bymeans of a rod with said trigger, a link horizontally and slidablymovable beneath the free end of the said hammer-arm whereby saidhammer-arm is held under tension and control, the other pin extendingdownwardly through having a body portion composed of a pair of verticalbody companion sections secured together, one of said body sectionsbeing thicker than the other, a hand grip integrally secured with thetop rear portions of said body sections, a marble magazine arrangedwithin said body with its upper end extending vertically upwardly, saidmagazine having resilient means attached to its rear wall and extendingforwardly and downwardly therein, said resilient means to retaintemporarily a taw to be projected, a barrel within the lower part ofsaid body with its rear end joined with said magazine and having itsopposite end portion extending horizontally and forwardly, atransversely arranged shaft located in and extending between said bodysections at the upper forward portion thereof, a vertically swingablehammer-arm mounted uponsaid shaft, the rear end of said hammer-armswingable through said magazine and said barrel, aspring having one endthereof attached to said hammer-arm adjacent its rear end, the oppositeend of said spring attached to the body section of greater thickness,said spring adapted to be stressed and deformed while said hammer-arm isin a raised horizontal position for striking a taw when released,

-rneans connected with said transversely arranged shaft for rotatingsaid hammer-arm to move it into an upper horizontal position, andtrigger means located in said body portion and said grip to release saidhammer-arm and the stressed spring when said hammer-arm is in itshorizontal position.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,073,544 3/37Alonso 124-26 2,371,249 3/45 Majewski 124-27 2,437,727 3 48 Drumheller124-27 3,026,864 3/62 Gray 12427 LOUIS R. PRINCE, Primary Examiner.

JAMES W. LOVE, Examiner.

1. A TOY MARBLE SHOOTER COMPRISING A VERTICAL BODY PORTION, SAID BODYPORTION CONSISTING OF TWO VERTICAL SUBSTANTIALLY COMPANION BODY SECTIONSJOINED TOGETHER, SAID BODY PORTION HAVING A FLAT BOTTOM HORIZONTALLYARRANGED AND ADAPTED TO REST UPON THE GROUND WHEN IN USE, SAID BODYPORTION EMBODYING A VERTICAL MAGAZINE CHAMBER AND A TUBULAR BARRELJOINED TOGETHER, AN OPENING IN THE SIDE WALL OF ONE SAID VERTICAL BODYSECTIONS FOR PERMITTING INSERTION OF A MARBLE INTO THE MAGAZINE CHAMBER,A RESILIENT PIN MEMBER SECURED TO THE REAR WALL OF ONE OF SAID BODYSECTIONS AND WITH ITS FREE END EXTENDING INWARDLY AND DOWNWARDLY INTOSAID VERTICAL MAGAZINE CHAMBER FOR RETAINING A MARBLE TEMPORARILY INSAID MAGAZINE CHAMBER, A TRANSVERSELY ARRANGED SHAFT LOCATED IN THEUPPER FORWARD PORTION OF SAID BODY PORTION, A VERTICALLY SWINGABLEHAMMER-ARM PIVOTALLY MOUNTED ON SAID SHAFT, SAID HAMMER-ARM HAVING AREAR FREE END WHICH SWINGS DOWNWARDLY AND FORWARDLY IN ACOUNTER-CLOCKWISE DIRECTION TO EXPEL THE MARBLE FROM THE SAID TUBULARBARREL, A HAND GRIP EXTENDING FROM THE UPPER REAR END PORTION OF SAIDBODY PORTION, TRIGGER MECHANISM ARRANGED IN THE UPPER REAR END PORTIONOF SAID BODY PORTION FOR CONTROLLING THE HAMMERARM PIVOTALLY MOUNTED ATTHE FORWARD END OF SAID BODY PORTION, A FINGER OF SAID TRIGGER MECHANISMEXTENDING DOWNWARDLY BETWEEN SAID HAND GRIP AND SAID BODY PORTION, AND ARUBBER BAND SECURED TO THE INNER FORWARD LOWER PORTION OF SAID BODYPORTION AND TO THE REAR FREE END PORTION OF SAID HAMMER-ARM FOR URGINGSAID HAMMERARM IN SAID COUNTERCLOCKWISE DIRECTION.